Meanie by the Sea
by ArticulateThief
Summary: A trip to the beach seems like fun and games to the majority of Seventeen, but Wonwoo has yet to tell anyone about his fear of water. When Mingyu encourages the boy to sit on the pier with him, Hoshi and Seungkwan tease them about being a couple and Wonwoo storms off, feeling uncomfortable. With only a limited time before the photoshoot starts, Mingyu sets off to find him.
1. The Pier

It was a bright sunny morning for seventeen. Like any other really. Only today was the day that they were to do a photo shoot by the sea, a new experience for a lot of members. But one boy in particular was not looking forward to this event.

"Wonwoo, stop spacing out! We're almost there now!" Hoshi shouted, poking the day dreamer on the cheek. Mingyu, who was watching intently from the back seat of the coach, lent forward.

"Hey. Are you alright?" He said with concern. The distant boy he was talking to stared off into the distance at the vast open stretch of water. He took a nervous gulp, but everyone else on the coach sat up in their seats, cheering and pointing.

"Hey look! You can see the pier!"

"It's so pretty~"

"Can we get some fish and chips here?"

"Guys look, there's the beach!"

Wonwoo covered his ears, trying to block out all the noise as best he could. Mingyu slowly lowered his arms and sat down, feeling sorry for him.

When the coach finally parked up, the boys flooded out the door, stretching and exchanging looks of excitement. The photo shoot wasn't for another couple of hours or so, therefore the members had this time to themselves. Several of them decided to head into town and have a look in the shops, but Mingyu really fancied an ice cream, and asked Wonwoo to join him.

"We could get one from that place over there, then go sit on the pier." He suggested, gesturing to a little shop nearby.

Wonwoo nodded, and the two walked over together.

"Which flavour d'you want? They've got vanilla, mint or chocolate. Or we could share one-"

"I don't think so."

Mingyu sighed, and purchased two small ice creams, one chocolate and one mint flavoured.

"Hey, you didn't have to pay for mine you know." Wonwoo said, trying to keep up with the other boy's fast walking pace.

"Don't worry about it." Mingyu said with a smile. "You looked kind of sad on the way here so I wanted to cheer you up." Wonwoo's eyes widened slightly, since when did Mingyu ever act like this towards him? For the most part he's just annoying. But he's actually being nice on this trip. A small smile spread across the boy's face, and he licked his ice cream happily.

"You've got some on your nose." Mingyu laughed, kicking his legs over the edge of the pier.

Wonwoo quickly wiped it away, feeling rather embarrassed. The two sat next to each other enjoying the last of the sun, as the photo shoot was to be done at sunset. They would then head back to the hotel afterwards to eat.

"Hey! You two look good together!" Hoshi shouted, making the wooden boards of the pier creak from running on them. He and seungkwan popped up behind the two boys, gesturing little love hearts and making irritating sounds.

"Hey, stop it guys, seriously!" Mingyu said, trying to push their hands away.

"The crew asked us to come and get you, the photo shoot's about to start - and you guys have to dive off the pier!" Seungkwan joked, pushing Wonwoo's shoulder and laughing.

Mingyu noticed the genuine worry on Wonwoo's face from that remark, and attempted to convince the two to leave them alone. Wonwoo however, had already got up and left.

"Thanks a lot guys, I was trying to-"

"Ask him out?"

"No."

"He's blushing!"

"I am not."

"Alright, alright. Come on Hoshi, let's go bother Jun and Minghao instead." and with that, the two skipped off down the pier again. Leaving Mingyu staring off in the direction of where he thought Wonwoo had gone.

With just over half an hour or so left until they had to get together again, Mingyu set off to find his nervous friend.

He spotted Jeonghan and a little ways up in the market Street and stopped to see what they were doing.

"Hey , what are you looking at?"

"Huh? Oh nothing much. Jeonghan wanted to look at the market so... yeah."

"So you got dragged along?"

"Pretty much, haha."

Mingyu looked around through the market stools, but saw no sign of the boy he was searching for.

"Hey, have either of you guys seen Wonwoo anywhere?"

"Nope, I thought he was with you, Hoshi and Seungkwan? Down at the pier?"

"He was but... I think he's a bit nervous for the photo shoot, so he wandered off on his own when the guys started joking around."

Jeonghan stopped looking at the hair products stand and turned around to join the conversation.

"I think I saw him go in that direction a little while ago, if that helps." He said, pointing through a large crowd.

"Ah, right, thanks." Mingyu said, heading off into the sea of people.

"You're... welcome?"

"He's gone . Now come over here, there's some really nice flower crowns I want you to try on."

Mingyu looked down at his watch. He only had twenty minutes to find Wonwoo, before he had to go back, hoping he'd already be there, waiting.

He reached an alleyway, but there was only a dead end there. Maybe he'd took a wrong turn?

Wonwoo looked across the beach towards the pier. Everybody else had started to go back to the hotel to get changed. All accept him and Mingyu that is. The first location was a few kilometres west of the beach, but Mingyu wouldn't know that, so he decided to go back to the pier to wait for him.

As he stepped on to the first plank he felt his chest tighten. It seemed scarier now that he was alone, now that Mingyu wasn't here. But he wanted to wait there, he had to get over his fear. One foot after another, he slowly made his way to the edge of the pier, and sat down. The sun had only just started to set, and there was no sign of anybody around. But all of a sudden, he heard someone behind him, but couldn't quite make out what was being said.

"Wonwoo! Get off that pier! Run!"

'Mingyu made it back' he smiled to himself. He stood up to greet the boy, but as he did so, the planks underneath him started to creak.

"Wonwoo! Quickly!"

Mingyu ran out on to the pier, knowing full well that he might fall through it also. He was signalling to get off the edge, but only until it was too late did the boy understand what it meant.

The boards cracked, and gave way from underneath Wonwoo, causing him to fall through.

"No!" Mingyu shouted, taking a great leap over the broken planks and grabbing Wonwoo by the wrist.

"Ah! Mingyu help! Please!"

"It's alright, I've got you. Do you think you can give me your other hand? Then I can pull you up. Calm down, everything's fi-"

The boy had spoken too soon, as the board beneath him cracked under his weight. The two plummeted into the salty water below, and Wonwoo let out an ear-splitting shriek.

Mingyu struggled to surface, he could see the planks above him that were preventing him from doing so. His eyes stung like mad, but he had to keep them open. Wonwoo was thrashing about nearby, but Mingyu noticed that he wasn't actually going anywhere. In fact, he was sinking.

He began to swim downwards, and picked up the pace when the boy stopped thrashing. He was completely still. Mingyu managed to lock arms with him, and began to swim upwards. The planks of wood from the pier had spread out and he could see an opening.

When they reached the surface, it was like breathing for the first time. The air couldn't have been more relieving. At least, for Mingyu it was.

"Wonwoo, can you hear me?" He said, placing a hand on the boy's cheek. He felt cold to the touch, and it was getting colder outside now too.

"Hey. Come on, it's alright now. You're safe."

Wonwoo opened his eyes ever so slightly, blinking away the sand. He realized that he was lying in Mingyu's arms, and seemed to be quite content with this fact. He nuzzled up to the boy's chest, stating that he was cold. Mingyu smiled, and wrapped his arms around the shivering child.

"You should have said that you didn't like water, Wonwoo." He said, looking up at what was left of the sun, and at the pretty stars that were starting to appear.

"I didn't want to. I didn't think we would actually have to swim."

"Well, how was it?"

... "It was horrible. We should probably get to the photo shoot-"

"That's not happening, look at you, you're shaking!"

Wonwoo attempted to push Mingyu away,

"I'm fine. Let's go."

"You aren't fine, come on, I'll take you back to the hotel."

"I don't need your help." Wonwoo said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"What's up with you? You were all snuggly a minute ago."

"Shut up. I don't want to be here right now." He said, feeling his cheeks flush. Wonwoo had never been in such a predicament, being alone with Mingyu like this made him feel awkward. He didn't know what to say, so he tried to leave. Only Mingyu wasn't done speaking yet.

"You aren't going anywhere, look at me."

"What?"

"Remember earlier? When Hoshi and Seungkwan came over?"

Wonwoo thought back, he remembered the hand gestures. What was Mingyu's point?

"Well, I've been thinking about what they were saying. It kind of makes sense you know."

"What does?"

"We kind of seem like a couple, don't we? Eating ice cream together, hanging around each other, and stuff."

Wonwoo had edged away slightly by this point, trying to hide his blushing face. He didn't like this topic, it made his chest hurt.

"So what? They were just kidding."

Mingyu leant forwards, and placed a hand on top of Wonwoo's, making him flinch.

"But it makes sense though. I really care about you too. So how about it?"

Wonwoo took a deep breath, and gulped down his nerves.

"You want to go out with me?"


	2. Stop Fretting

Looking into Wonwoo's eyes on this pale moonlit night was like nothing Mingyu had ever experienced before. But on this particular night he hadn't expected such a sight to turn sour so quickly.

"What? You're joking right?"

...silence.

"Come on, tell me you're joking." Wonwoo said, pulling his hand out from underneath Mingyu's. He backed off slightly, and blinked in concern.

"Well... yeah. Yeah, of course it was a joke!" Mingyu laughed, trying to hold back his true feelings. The last thing he wanted was to make Wonwoo feel uncomfortable.

"G..good. Because that would be so weird." Wonwoo said, his eyes floating down to the ground as he spoke.

Mingyu nodded. For what seemed like minutes, the two boys sat in silence, trying to process what just happened.

"Thanks." Wonwoo finally said, his deep voice sounding a lot more relaxed than before.

"For what?" Mingyu asked, turning his head, not sure what he was expecting.

"For saving me... and stuff."

It was a split second decision, but Wonwoo leant forward and planted a kiss on Mingyu's cheek. He then stood up, and offered out his hand.

"Come on. Let's get back. It's dark, and I'm tired." He said, not really acknowledging the look of shock on Mingyu's face.

"I wonder if they did the photo shoot without us? Man, we're gonna get such a scolding-" The boy didn't have a chance to finish before he was almost knocked over by Mingyu, who buried his head in Wonwoo's wet shirt.

"H...hey! Don't! That feels weird, stop it!" The older boy stated, trying to pry Mingyu's arms away. He eventually succeeded, and gave a great sigh of relief.

"Now. Let's go back to the dorm, but don't... do anything else weird." Wonwoo said firmly, walking briskly ahead of his younger member. Mingyu just smiled, and tried to keep up with him.

Trailing back up through the market town, Wonwoo's rage suddenly subsided. He was distracted by all the pretty lanterns and intriguing trinkets. There was one particular stand that caught his eye, it had lots of necklaces and cool-looking souvenirs. Just as he was about to pick one necklace up to get a closer look, Mingyu came up behind him, pointing at several stools of food in turn, and rubbing his stomach.

"We should probably go and dry off first though. You have seaweed here." He laughed, pulling the piece of sloppy green mush out from Wonwoo's collar.

And so, the two continued walking in the direction of their dorm, feet squishing as they went.

"Finally!... we... made it!" Mingyu cried, his breathing heavy from walking up the hill that leads to their destination.

"It's not even that steep." Wonwoo bragged, not a breath out of place, nor a drip of sweat on his forehead.

Mingyu glared at him as he held the door open, but then realised the look of struggle on the boy's face.

"Hey, you sure you're okay? You look a bit-"

Thud.

"Wonwoo! Oh my god! Um.. okay.. uh.. what do I do?! Wonwoo? Can you hear me?" Mingyu shouted, frantically running his hands across the collapsed boy's neck. He was laying on the floor, completely motionless.

'Where's his pulse? Where is everyone?!'

*bing* The sound of Mingyu's phone had answered his question, but it wasn't good news.

'Hey Mingyu. Where are you? Are you with Wonwoo? Everyone has gone to the pizza restaurant by the pier. Come asap. Director wants to talk. Expect a butt kicking.

From: Woozi'

"They're all the way down there?! No way... I don't have time for this!" Mingyu panicked, attempting to pick Wonwoo up and bring him into the bathroom. There was only two in the whole place, which was surprising considering how many members were staying there. The downstairs one was easier to get to, and so Mingyu carried the now semi-conscious boy in, and propped him up against the wall.

"Wonwoo? You hear me? Can you hear me? I'm sorry. For making you uncomfortable. But you see, the truth is... that I...that..." Mingyu trailed off, as he looked up at Wonwoo's open eyes, and his amused expression.

"You?"

Mingyu felt his cheeks flush. Was he really about to say what he felt? In the bathroom? He looked away. But then looked back. Into Wonwoo's eyes. He resisted the urge to hug him again, and placed a hand on the boy's forehead.

Wonwoo shut his eyes, and Mingyu's heart skipped a beat.

"D...do you feel faint? S...should I call an ambulance?"

Wonwoo shook his head.

"No? Okay... well you should probably get changed out of those wet clothes. You'll get a cold. Should I get some for you?"

Wonwoo perked up at hearing this. He suddenly didn't take so kindly to the situation.

"No. I can get them." He stated, trying to stand. Mingyu helped him up, but once he was on his feet the boy seemed alright to walk.

"You sure you can-"

"Yes I'm fine, stop fretting."

Mingyu smiled. Wonwoo was back to his usual self. But it was strange, it seemed that every time he was in danger, he managed to recover, almost as if he didn't want Mingyu to do anything for him. Odd.

As Wonwoo pushed the bathroom door open, he almost closed it in shock. Mingyu was standing there with his shirt off, with no care in the world.

"Can you pass me a towel?" Wonwoo asked, feeling nervous and awkward once again.

"What?" Mingyu said, opening the door and flashing his midriff in front of his hyung. Wonwoo couldn't help but stare. He didn't know that Mingyu had such a great body.

"What did you say?"

"Huh? Oh! Can you pass me a towel?"

"Nonsense, come in." Mingyu stated, softly taking the boy by the arm and guiding him inside.

"Do you need help with anything?" He said, tossing Wonwoo a towel. "Your shirt maybe?"

Wonwoo didn't reply, he didn't have the words to speak. Mingyu was in the bathroom with him, half naked. What was going on? He felt shy, like he didn't want to expose himself. So instead he just hugged tightly onto the towel and watched as Mingyu proceeded to dry his hair.

"Ugh, I'm so wet. Oh well, we made it back in one piece at least." He stated, whilst slowly drying his arms with the towel. "That is, until we have to face missing the photo shoot. Hopefully the Director will understand."

"You okay?" Wonwoo snapped himself out of it, what was he doing? Staring like that - it's not normal. He was distracted somehow, by Mingyu. He shook his head, and proceeded to dry his own hair.

"Come on, you're not scared are you?" The taller boy smirked, walking over to Wonwoo, who backed up against the wall. He felt Mingyu's hands tug on the bottom of his shirt, and he shut his eyes.

As he felt the shirt fabric crawl up his wet skin, it made him flinch. The cold from the sea water and Mingyu's hands caused him discomfort.

"Come on, you need to dry off properly. You've already fainted, and I don't want you to get sick. There's no point in being shy Wonwoo, I can see through your shirt."

Wonwoo's eyes drifted down, and sure enough, his white shirt was completely see through. Almost as if he'd been standing there with it off the whole time. He didn't give in though. He didn't want Mingyu to touch him anymore than he already had.

"Please, can you go outside? I can dry myself." He said flatly. Mingyu frowned, then agreed to leave the boy in peace. As soon as the door clicked shut, Wonwoo let out a great sigh of relief. Like he hadn't been able to breathe being in Mingyu's presence. He had never felt so nervous around anyone before. So...self-conscious. But, his chest felt all fuzzy, it was an odd combination that he couldn't quite explain. When he finally managed to dry himself off, he hesitantly opened the door. Mingyu was waiting on the other side, with a concerned look on his face, but it faded when he saw Wonwoo was alright by himself, just as he'd said.

"Woozi texted me a little while ago. The others are eating down by the pier, and apparently the director wants a word. Are you feeling up to it? If not I can-"

"We should probably go." Wonwoo said, not really wanting to stay alone in the dorm with Mingyu.

"I don't think you're fit to walk all the way back down there. Why don't I just go down to the market stools and get something for us?"

Wonwoo saw the sheer look of worry on Mingyu's face. He didn't want to disappoint him. How bad could it be?

Besides, did he really want to go back to the pier? People would question why it had collapsed. He especially didn't want Hoshi and Seungkwan to tease him. Plus he really didn't feel like socialising right now.

"Okay. But don't be ages." He said, turning his head away.

Mingyu practically ran down the hill, not wanting to leave his friend alone for too long. As he got to the entrance of the market town, he bought the first thing food-wise in sight. But something else caught his eye also.

Wonwoo looked around, suddenly feeling quite alone. He went back into the bathroom to wash his face, but saw Mingyu's shirt on the floor and walked over to it. It was still warm.

Did he do the right thing earlier?

Well, it doesn't matter does it? It's not like they could actually be together anyway. Being in the same band and all.

Wonwoo sighed. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to accept his feelings for Mingyu. But he knew deep down that if he didn't speak up, nothing good would come of it.

"I'm back!" Mingyu shouted, the rustling of a plastic bag and the click of the door indicating his presence.

Wonwoo jumped, and immediately dropped the shirt on the floor. He rushed out of the bathroom, and shut the door behind him. Mingyu had just entered the hallway and was rummaging around in his pockets, but when he saw Wonwoo standing there, he looked up.

"You okay?"

A nod.

"I got some meat things on sticks, they looked really good so I thought we could try them."

Wonwoo looked on, not saying anything as such, but just... watching. Watching Mingyu's eyes blink. His mouth move as he spoke. His hands as he carefully took the delicately wrapped packages out of the bag. Wonwoo was entranced. He gulped, swallowed down his nerves, and then opened his mouth to speak.

"Mingyu...I..uh..."

"Oh yeah, and I got this for you too."

Wonwoo's heart jumped as Mingyu began to walk towards him. He pressed his hands against the door, as the taller boy came right up close.

"Close your eyes a second."


	3. A Gift, and a nightmare

"What? Why?" Wonwoo panicked, looking up into Mingyu's eyes. He was practically being cornered, and suddenly felt claustrophobic. When he saw what was dangling from Mingyu's hand however, his fear subsided.

"I saw you looking at this earlier."

Wonwoo blinked. It was a silver necklace, with a little pendant that had the number 17 engraved onto it. The exact one he had his eye on in the market.

"You must have been watching me pretty closely."

Mingyu shrugged, and gestured for Wonwoo to close his eyes once again.

"I don't see why closing my eyes is necessary."

Mingyu looked down at the boy's face, and leaned in closer. He clicked the clasp of the necklace in place, and fondled the pendant in-between his fingers. It looked just how he imagined it would.

"You done?" Wonwoo said impatiently, feeling Mingyu's breath on his forehead.

"Yep. Have a look in the mirror, go on." Mingyu grinned, guiding his hyung back into the bathroom.

Wonwoo walked straight up to the large mirror on the wall, but stopped in his tracks when Mingyu grabbed him from behind.

"You like it?" He whispered into Wonwoo's ear. The latter felt strangely uncomfortable at the hands around his waist, but also oddly relaxed. Like he was in a protective cage of some sort.

"Yes. Thank you, Mingyu." He said, somewhat sarcastically. After he spoke, the boy's grip tightened around Wonwoo's chest, and the two met each other's gaze in the mirror.

"I feel like a girl, you buying jewellery for me."

"Should I call you princess then?"

"You dare." Wonwoo glared. At this moment both of the boy's stomachs growled in unison, and their laughs broke the tension.

"I guess we should eat then!" Mingyu said, removing his hands out from underneath Wonwoo's arms. The taller boy left the room, still giggling slightly.

Wonwoo smiled, and looked back into the mirror. He could still feel where Mingyu had touched him. Almost as if he was still there. But, he wasn't. He was calling Wonwoo from the kitchen.

"Where do you want to eat these?" The boy shouted, waving a stick of meat about. Wonwoo walked over and gestured for Mingyu to stop, because he was getting sauce all over the floor.

"Whoops." He laughed. But his expression changed when he saw what Wonwoo had come over to do. It all seemed to happen in slow motion.

He watched as the boy began to lick the dripping sauce from the skewer in his hand. His tongue circled round the piece of meat until there was hardly any sauce left. Mingyu watched with his eyes transfixed, he swallowed. When Wonwoo stopped, he licked around the outside of his mouth, then smiled.

"That was good."

Mingyu didn't know what to say. He was so... no it wasn't anything weird. All he was doing was making sure no more sauce got onto the floor. That was the end of it.

"You can have this one." He finally said, giving Wonwoo the stick in his hand.

After eating, the two boys leaned back on the sofa, both feeling tired and pleasantly full.

"Thanks for that." Wonwoo smiled, looking over to his fellow band member, who had his eyes closed.

"Mingyu?"

Asleep.

"Thanks... for everything." He said, moving over to rest on Mingyu's shoulder. He snuggled up and shut his eyes, experiencing that same feeling he had earlier.

What was this feeling? Security? Comfort? No. It wouldn't make much sense if it was. It must be something more. But what was it? Wonwoo didn't know. All he knew was that right now, in this moment, he liked being alone with Mingyu. It made him feel happy.

When he awoke, Wonwoo found himself alone. He sat up from the sofa, having slipped down onto the cushion where Mingyu had been. He looked around. It was awfully dark. The only light he could see was coming from outside, the little lamp by the front door gave off a faint, eerie glow.

"Hello?" Wonwoo said, approaching the switches on the wall. He flicked one, but nothing happened. Even if anyone was there, it wouldn't do much good if they couldn't see each other. He flicked each of the switches in turn. None of the lights came on.

"Hello?" He said, a bit louder this time. There was still no reply. Although he could hear a faint sound coming from outside, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

'Oh, the guys must be back from their meal.' He thought, walking over to greet them in. When he opened the front door however, he was the one being greeted, by a massive drop that is. Wonwoo felt himself being pulled off the edge, and began to fall down the seemingly bottomless pit. He screamed, the same ear splitting shriek he had uttered when the pier collapsed. One of sheer terror. He could see water at the bottom, the sea. But just before he fell into it, Wonwoo woke up, for real this time. Mingyu had been shaking him, and he leapt up into the boy's arms, shivering with fright.

"It's okay, calm down. It's over now." Mingyu reassured him, stroking Wonwoo's hair and holding him close to his chest. The two stayed like this for minutes, the only sound that could be heard was Wonwoo's separated breaths every few seconds.

"What happened?" Mingyu asked when the boy had eventually calmed down.

"I was alone. Then I fell, there was water. Oh Mingyu, it was horrible." He uttered, taking deep breaths to keep a steady voice.

"I don't understand, why are you so terrified of water?"

Wonwoo sighed.

"When I was little. I went to the beach with my parents. I was paddling, but a current dragged me out to sea, and I don't really remember much after that. But I remember my dad told me that I didn't wake up for almost a minute. I'd stopped breathing, apparently. So I guess that experience has followed me the rest of my life. I haven't been swimming since then."

Mingyu nodded slightly. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Where are we by the way? Weren't we asleep on the sofa?"

"Oh, it was getting late so I brought you into your room. I was going to go to sleep, but I heard you crying out, you seemed really distressed. I know the worst thing to do when someone is having a nightmare is to wake them up but- you looked like you were suffering. I couldn't just sit by and watch that."

Wonwoo smiled.

"No, I'm glad. I might have fallen into the water if you didn't wake me up. I'm grateful."

The two boys looked into each other's eyes, the darkness of the room compelling them. Just as Mingyu leant forwards, and was about to lift his hand up to Wonwoo's cheek, the flick of a light switch outside and the sound of several rowdy voices made him flinch.

'Damn. They had to come back right at this exact moment, didn't they?' He thought.

"Looks like the gang's back." Mingyu sighed, going over to the door. Wonwoo looked on, feeling a sense of longing. He didn't want the night to end like this, he didn't want the rest of the band to be here right now. But, a small part of him was relieved. Relieved that Mingyu didn't kiss him just then, because he wasn't ready yet. Not yet.

"Heyy! You guys missed the food! It was great!" Seungkwan shouted, frolicking along the hall, slipping every couple of steps because of his socks on the hard floor.

"Yeah, where did you guys head off to?" Joshua asked, trying to avoid a small flying contraption that someone had bought at the market.

"We... uh..." Mingyu stuttered, trying to find an excuse for not being at the dinner. As he was talking, Wonwoo came out of his bedroom, rubbing his eyes.

"There he is!" Hoshi shouted, smiling. As the last few members came through the door, including a tired looking Woozi and a laughing Vernon, a loud voice could be heard over all the sudden noise.

"Everyone! We aren't the only people staying here! Please show some respect!" bellowed, almost immediately silencing the rest of the members. Jeonghan smiled, then started telling people to go to their rooms.

"Woah." Dino said, eyes wide.

Everyone quickly departed, and soon the noise dulled down.

"Honestly, what am I gonna do with them?" sighed, pouring himself a drink. "So, what did happen with you two?"

Mingyu was stuck for words once again, but this time, it was Wonwoo that stepped forwards.

"It was my fault leader. I didn't say anything but, I actually hate water."

A look of confusion spread across the eldest boy's face.

"But what does that have to do with you missing the photo shoot? And the meal as well? The director's gonna have it out with you, you know that right?"

"Yeah we know. But it was a bit more complicated than it seems." Mingyu said, trying not to let Wonwoo take all the blame.

"Well, we can discuss it tomorrow, but right now you guys should probably get some rest. Staying up late won't do you much good." said, raising his eye brows at the splatters of random sauce on the floor, but then shaking his head and putting his cup on the draining board.

"See you tomorrow." And with that, he tapped Mingyu on the shoulder, and walked off to give Jeonghan a cup of hot chocolate.

"He's right. We should go get some shut eye. We can talk about it another time." Mingyu said, going over to his room.

"Ah- Mingyu... wait..." Wonwoo mumbled, tugging on the sleeve of his friend's shirt.

"I'll be right back. You go and get settled. Go on. I won't be a sec."

Wonwoo nodded, slightly puzzled, but he decided to go and do as Mingyu had said. His duvet was in a heap on the other side of the room, presumably where he had tossed it during his nightmare. It was still warm, so he climbed into it, but then remembered he was still in his day clothes.

Mingyu struggled to lift his things across the hall. He hoped he'd brought everything. As he approached Wonwoo's room, he made sure to turn the lights off, as he was the last person awake. He decided to clean up the mess on the floor tomorrow.

Edging over to the door, he could hear shuffling. He opened it slowly, but stopped when he saw Wonwoo standing there with his back to the door. He had no shirt on. Mingyu furiously fought the urge to do something. To say something. But instead he just stood there and waited.

When Wonwoo had put a new bed shirt on, he turned to see the taller boy standing in the doorway, holding his belongings.

"What are you doing?"

"You really think I'm gonna let you sleep on your own after all that?"


	4. Contentment

"Huh?" Wonwoo questioned once again, surprised at how quickly Mingyu had jumped at the chance to stay with him a bit longer. But sleep together? Isn't that a bit... well, the members had done it before. Granted, they did have separate beds at that point in time, but in this dorm, in this room even, there was only one bed. It was a double, but still, Wonwoo thought it would be a bit strange for two boys to be sleeping together.

"I think I brought everything." Mingyu said, sitting down cross legged on the floor.

"You know you're lucky, not all the rooms have beds like this."

Wonwoo could only watch as the boy started to go through his things, frantically searching for something. After several seconds it became apparent that he could not find it.

"I don't think I have a blanket or anything. Ah, It doesn't matter, I can just sleep here yeah?"

Mingyu pointed down at the floor, waiting for a response.

Wonwoo felt sorry for him. He didn't want Mingyu to sleep on the cold, hard floor. But... that would mean...

"Y..you don't have to sleep there, you might get a stiff neck. Come up here." Wonwoo said, gesturing for the boy to climb into bed with him. He knew that this situation is what he wanted to avoid, but he couldn't help it. It was almost like he wanted to sleep with Mingyu. A small part of him wished for it, and so, the two boys awkwardly settled in next to each other.

Wonwoo looked over at the younger boy, it was hard to make out his features now that all the lights had gone out. He gulped. Was this really happening? And to think, they were sitting eating an ice cream earlier on- and now it's come to this. Mingyu flicked his hair back and sighed.

"Phew, it's been quite a day hasn't it? I'm pretty knackered." He said, lying back on to the fluffed pillow. Wonwoo nodded, but continued to look down at the boy. He felt nervous again. But why? Why did he feel this way? Shouldn't he feel relaxed around the other members? Or was there something about Mingyu that was different?

Something about Mingyu...

Wonwoo thought back to all the things that had happened that day. There were so many occasions on which Mingyu had been really nice to him. So is that what makes him special? Is that why he feels different around Mingyu?

Wait a minute...

"Hey, Wonwoo?"

The boy suddenly jumped out of his skin.

"Y..yes?" He stuttered, shaking the bizarre thoughts from his head.

"You not tired?"

Wonwoo realised he had been looking down at Mingyu the whole time he had been thinking.

"No, I was just thinking about stuff." He said, turning his head away.

"What kind of stuff?"

Wonwoo sighed, but Mingyu had sat up, and was now rather close to him, so he shuffled away in discomfort.

"Oh, come on. Tell me."

'Should I say? But... no it's weird.' Wonwoo's head felt conflicted. He didn't know what to do.

"Please?" Mingyu said, leaning in, a small smile spreading across his face. Wonwoo took a deep breath.

"Remember earlier? When you asked- Ah, no. It doesn't matter."

Mingyu's eyes widened.

"What? What did I ask you? Please, you can't leave me hanging like this."

...

"When you asked me... if I would go out with you."

Mingyu could feel his heart beat getting faster. Was this it? What he had been waiting for all this time?

"Well... I've been thinking about it. I'm sorry I turned you down like that. You've been so nice to me today, but I treated you like dirt. Throwing it all back at you. I just... I didn't know how to react. It kind of shocked me to be honest."

The younger boy leant back slightly. It... shocked him? Well, maybe it was a bit out of the blue. But still...

"So... Mingyu?"

"...yeah?"

"Is the offer still on the table? Well, what I mean to say is... you still want to go out with me?"

...

Mingyu leapt forwards, a great big smile on his face, and buried his head into Wonwoo's shirt.

"Yes." He said, trying to contain his joy.

Wonwoo felt a smile come across on his own face, and wrapped his arms around Mingyu's shoulders.

The moonlight shone through and illuminated the room slightly, and a view of the beach could be seen from that same window that the boy was sitting at.

... 'So... is Mingyu my... boyfriend, now?'

He thought to himself. With his legs pulled right up close to his chest, the boy leant on his knees, and looked out towards the pier. He could still feel the rush of fear from earlier that evening, but he was more concerned about what the director would have to say about missing the photo shoot.

He knew there were others, that they still had several days left in this location, but still. It was his fault they missed it.

...

The sound of the sea. It was strangely calming, considering how afraid Wonwoo was of it. He looked over towards the other boy, who was sound asleep in his bed. He stood up, brushed the dust off of his trousers, then laid back down next to Mingyu.

He looked so peaceful. So... attractive. Wonwoo stretched out a hand, and started to caress Mingyu's cheek. He smiled. A fuzzy feeling in his chest, and the nerves combined with it... it was all so strange. He brushed back a piece of hair covering Mingyu's eye, but as he did so the boy began to wake from his deep slumber.

"...?"

"Sorry... I didn't mean to wake you."

Wonwoo looked into Mingyu's half open eyes.

He... really liked this boy. But does that mean that he was actually... in love with him?

Mingyu smiled, and slowly began to lean towards Wonwoo. He placed a hand on the boy's cheek, and finally, kissed him.

The sensation upon Wonwoo's mouth was strange, he'd never felt it before, but it was a pleasant experience for him. The two boys stayed close, their arms intertwined, and the smaller boy rested his head on the other, and fell sound asleep, smiling all the while.


	5. A Search Party

The next day was bright and sunny for the most part. The sun shone through the parted curtains, and birds could be heard singing their morning songs just outside. Mingyu slowly opened his eyes. Wonwoo was gone. He looked over at the bedside cabinet, and saw the necklace he had bought only yesterday, curled up in a little pile.

"Wonwoo?" Mingyu called out, still not fully awake yet. Maybe the boy had gone to get a drink or something. But why would he take his necklace off? He was still wearing it last night when they went to sleep.

Pulling on a pair of socks, the boy stepped on to the hard cold floor, edging towards the doorway.

'Glad I didn't sleep on that last night.' He thought.

...

Nobody around in the lounge area. The sofa where he and Wonwoo had slept on yesterday afternoon was free from occupants. Mingyu looked over towards the kitchen. Seungcheol's cup was still there. And so was the sauce that Mingyu had dropped on the floor.

'Aish... I'd better clean that up before someone slips on it...' He thought, going over to get some tissue. Just as he was turning around however, he heard a great thud.

"Oww!"

It was Seungkwan, who had slipped on the sauce whilst in the process of trying to make Mingyu jump.

"What is this? It's all sticky." The boy complained, trying to upright himself.

"Sorry, I was just about to clean that."

Mingyu apologised, helping the boy to his feet.

"Yeah well... you do that." Seungkwan groaned, wiping the sauce on his arm with a bit of tissue and trudging back down the hall. He stopped half way though, to annoy Hansol, who had just emerged from his room.

Mingyu sighed angrily, looking down at the mess that was even more spread out and sticky looking than before.

"Ooh, what's the matter with you?" Jun smiled, emerging from his room with a couple of cups.

"Seungkwan. And the mess I made yesterday."

Jun chuckled whilst trying to avoid the sauce on the floor, to place the two cups on the draining board.

"Well, that was a pretty heavy sigh just for that. Although, Seungkwan is probably worth about four or five of those."

Mingyu didn't say anything, just started wiping the floor with the tissue, groaning at the disgustingness of it.

"Hey," Jun started, bending down to help clean up. "What happened yesterday with Wonwoo?"

Gulp. Why did Mingyu feel nervous about telling people? Somehow it felt like he might get Wonwoo into trouble by doing so. Or that he might hurt Wonwoo's feelings by spilling the beans.

"Is he feeling okay?"

Mingyu nodded.

"He just... doesn't like water is all."

Jun frowned.

"That's funny, he's in the shower right now, so he must like it to some extent."

Mingyu's eyes widened slightly at the mention of the boys whereabouts.

"I meant he's afraid of the ocean."

Jun nodded. Then patted Mingyu on the back.

"Well, hopefully this trip will help him get over it." He winked, before going to sit on the couch.

"Thanks for helping me clean that up by the way." Mingyu said, glancing over at Jun turning the TV on.

"No prob."

Walking slowly over to the bathroom, Mingyu spotted the door slightly ajar, and heard several laughing voices coming from inside.

Hoshi emerged, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. He was closely followed by Dino, and the two walked away laughing. Mingyu looked on in confusion, until he saw Wonwoo coming out of the bathroom also. His eyes drifted down to the boy's bare chest, which was still slightly wet from being in the shower. Then Mingyu shook his head and pretended to be fiddling with the flying contraption someone had bought yesterday. It was the first thing he saw, so he used it to distract himself from Wonwoo.

"Hey." The boy said, drying his hair as he approached Mingyu.

The younger swallowed, not quite knowing how to act around Wonwoo now. They were... going out. But, does that mean they need to be secretive and stuff? They couldn't afford for the other members to find out. So all that touchy feely stuff they were doing the other day needs to be kept at a minimum. Right?

But Mingyu felt a strange urge to hug Wonwoo again. Like he needed the contact to satisfy him.

"You alright?"

"Ah- yeah. Sorry. About yesterday and everything, you know. I should have checked with you before just barging in with all my stuff-" Mingyu started saying, his voice sounding slightly unbalanced. He was stopped quickly though, as Jun started calling him from the lounge.

"Guys, come look at this! The pier collapsed yesterday apparently!"

Wonwoo and Mingyu both jumped, then gave each other looks of worry.

Jeonghan came over, delicately brushing his hair, and followed behind him.

Soon quite a few boys had gathered to watch the news report.

'Yesterday evening screams were reported coming from the pier down by the beach. A search party is now being organised, as a young couple were thought to have been sighted near the area only moments before the incident...'

The boys started talking amongst themselves.

"And to think, we were only there yesterday."

"Yeah, we went there to take a picture."

"Didn't you guys sit on that pier with ice creams?" Joshua asked, diverting his attention to Mingyu and Wonwoo.

The boy's faces turned pale.

'A search party?' Mingyu thought. 'What are we gonna do now?'

Wonwoo nodded.

"Yeah, we did." He said, looking innocently at Mingyu, who only stared back.

When the majority of the members had finished discussing, there was a loud knock on the door. answered it, and immediately bowed, as it was the director. He slowly stepped in, not uttering a word of greeting to any of the boys, until he saw Wonwoo and Mingyu. He stopped.

"You two," He said, his voice a threatening undertone.

"Come with me."


End file.
